Taste is good, but a little letdown. Its nutty and sweet. The sweetness comes from toffee and caramel. It's a little on the boozy side and the aftertaste is like a bad walnut. It wasn't like that in the middle, it just finishes a little off for me.

Mouthfeel is medium body and creamy for a brown. It has a comforting feel like a fall/winter beer should.

The high abv is present and makes this more of a sipper. I prefer my browns to be more "sessionable."

A: Thunder and Son pours a deep, dark brown with reddish streaks when held to the light. a finger of dense, light brown foam settles quickly into the beer, leaving a good amount of spotted lacing around the glass.

S: initial aromas are strong- dark chocolate, lightly roasted coffee and caramel. The roasted coffee aroma fades quickly, leaving loads of caramel and subtle hints of dark fruits. As it warms, the alcohol making up the 12% abv starts to show itself. At one point I also pick up fleeting notes of nutmeg.

T: the caramel is definitely the dominant flavor in this one. Roasted malt and nutty notes work well to balance out the sweetness, but the sweet caramel flavors stand head and shoulders above the rest.

M: Full bodied and creamy, with a strong roasty, and slightly bitter, aftertaste. That hint of bitterness perfectly balances out the sweet malts.

D: Thunder and Son is way too drinkable for a 12% abv brew. Of course, I'm not all the way through the bomber as I write this so I might change my tune by the time I pour glass #3! It's so full bodied I've had to take a few sips of water to clear the palate, but that's not a bad thing. Anyway, another top-notch offering from Half Acre.

Balanced sweet and bitter elements, a really nice hop profile. Extra fruity with a huge malty body. Rich toffee flavors, yet its light bodied. The fruity hop notes of cantaloupe and citrus are really pleasant, aging this would only mute those flavors. Drink fresh to experience the full spectrum of hops being showcased...

Decided to open this one up last night and I will admit it kicked my but! Served cold and into a pint glass this was consumed on 12/20.

The pour was a deep, dark brown with a huge head of creamy tan lacing that really started to shine as it built up. Aroma is heavy, lots of caramel, brown sugar, hints of bourbon? Hmm. Vanilla and cocoa coming through now, really just very, very well done. Creamy and smooth with a deceptive ABV, this came across amazing IMO.

Overall a really good offering that was a pleasure to enjoy, would do it again any day

So since I've been drinking basically every Half Acre beer under the sun thanks to the incomparable GBVDave, figured it's about time to start reviewing them! Alas... it's with one that wasn't my favorite (but I appreciate the beer no less, Dave!).

This pours promising, a deep dusty brown with a nice finger cap of head. The nose is a touch hot, and fruity esters slip in around a touch of burnt toast to almost give hints of a barleywine.

I had a hard time scoring this one... on the one hand, it's not offensive. Its primary flaw is the booze. At 12% I want something a bit more chewy, with some lingering complexities, to linger over and sip. This has the straightforward mid-palate chocolate sweetness and short roast finish of a nice brown ale, but with some dark fruit and a long warm finish in the chest. In other words, I'd have no trouble putting down a bomber, on the other hand, I can't help but feel that there's a version of this beer that's either half (or less) the alcohol that's better.

Poured from a bomber into a Chimay goblet. This bottle was purchased in December of 2010.

Appearance: Pours a reddish brown with just a hint of off white head that goes away pretty quickly.

Smell: Sweet and malty, go figure. Some dark fruit and carmel. There is a slight alcohol warmth as well. Nice but not overly exciting.

Taste: Sweet, but not as sweet as I would have expected. Some dark fruit notes along with a hint of brown sugar. The finish has a very slight bitterness to it. The age must have calmed this one down a bit, because the booze is there, but not overpowering at all.

Mouthfeel: The body is thick and syrupy with tingly carbonation and a slick finish.

Overall: I thought this beer was pretty darn good. Not overly boozy or sweet. I'd have another, but I'd leave it in the cellar for a year and a half.

Poured into a mug. Big thanks to Khazadum for this. A brown ale at 12%, move over DFH!

5.0 A: Clear light to medium brown color. Two and a half fingers of tan, surprisingly creamy (with a frothy component as well) head. Above average retention, which at 12%, is impressive and a thick ring of lacing. Really beautiful.

4.0 S: Dry roasted nuts is the dominant aroma. Formitable toastiness next with a touch of toffee, a lesser touch of coffee. Caramel and chocolate come out as it warms up. Absolutely no signs of alcohol.

3.5 T: The alcohol not found in the nose is certainly found in the taste. It's not overly boozy for 12%, just surprisingly so given its lack of presence in the aroma. Toffee is strongest flavor, followed by caramel, coffee, nuts, and chocolate. Not bad, just not as good as the nose.

4.0 D: It's a good beer, but suffers a bit from the booziness in the taste. I think this might need some aging for it to be really good. The mouthfeel is awesome, as is the appearance. A lot of good qualities in this beer, just a little too hot for my liking. P.S. I don't know if it's the booze or the beer, but this gets better as you drink it!

22 oz. bottle shared on Friday with a couple buddies during some March Madness. Go Bucks!

The underlined word "thunder" on the blind wrapping gave a hint as well as the recent Half Acre brews I had, which is why I decided to share 3 ways.

The first whiff as I opened the cap made me think english barleywine with a huge malt bill.

Pours an opaue brown with a solid 3 finger head that cratered my glass. Some lacing as we drank.

Nose was incredibly complex! We got big caramel and molasses notes as well as some roasted nut and dark coffee. No hops anywhere.

Taste was just amazing. The best way to describe is this: Take a fresh baked biscuit from the oven, top with butter, a huge dollop of dark caramel and a dab of molasses. Then, after you take a bit, take a sip of espresso. That's what Thunder and Sons tastes like.

Very full bodied and light carbonation, despite the monster head. Quite appropriate for the style. Had some interesting butter feeling, but also as it warmed, I picked up a dryness that almost tastes like licking wood, though I don't think this is oak aged at all.

The beer was way more drinkable than I expected. I had purchased a Thunder and Sons when it first came out, but the early reviews all said it was too hot. That no longer holds true. The beer is drinking fantastically well right now and felty like 8% tops. Went down way too easily.

Poured from a 22oz bomber into three imperial pints. Thanks to stevepens for supplying the beer and again to steve and HeatherAnn for the assist!

A: Pours a deep, chocolate-y, chestnut-brown. Pretty solid, color-wise, with the barest hint of lighter brown at the edges. Capped with a short lived, yet creamy, light khaki colored head that only left a tiny scattering of lace behind.

Pours a reddish-amber color with some brown tinting. Huge tan head that sticks around for awhile and leaves plenty of lacing. The nose brings some caramel, toffee, light fruits, and a bit of a metallic component in the finish. The taste brings the metallic notes further to the front, nearly overwhelming the sweet caramel malt of the underlying brew. Pretty hefty alcohol character as well. Feel is slightly metallic and has quite a bit of alcohol along with plenty of residual sweetness. Overall, a bit of a mess and the first Half Acre beer I didn't really care for.